Pakistan kicked-off their preparations for the upcoming Asia Cup on a positive note, securing a convincing victory by 142 runs against Afghanistan in the first ODI held on Tuesday.
Under the leadership of Babar Azam, Pakistan now holds a 1-0 advantage in the three-match series, having restricted Afghanistan to a mere 59 runs while chasing a target of 202.
Despite clinching the win, the match proved to be a nightmarish experience for Captain Babar Azam, who was dismissed without scoring and consequently marked an unwanted record as a skipper.
Having chosen to bat first, Pakistan faced an early setback with the dismissal of Fakhar Zaman, followed closely by Babar Azam, who fell victim to an LBW decision by Mujeeb Ur Rehman. This incident marked the fourth instance where Babar was dismissed without contributing a run in the 50-over format, and the second time in his role as captain.
This statistic has now aligned him with the likes of Imran Khan, the captain of the 1992 World Cup-winning team, as well as Javed Miandad, Azhar Ali, and Younis Khan.
At 28 years old, the batsman now holds the fourth position on the list, which is headed by Wasim Akram with a total of eight duck dismissals. In the second and third spots are Inzamam-ul-Haq and Moin Khan, each with four dismissals, followed by Misbah-ul-Haq with three.
Turning to the match itself, the explosive pace bowler Haris Rauf spearheaded a formidable pace attack against Afghanistan, achieving a personal best with a five-wicket haul. This outstanding performance contributed to Pakistan’s resounding 142-run victory in the first one-day international held in Hambantota, Sri Lanka on Tuesday.
Rauf’s exceptional figures of 5-18 in 6.2 overs proved to be the catalyst in Afghanistan’s collapse, resulting in their second-lowest ODI total of 59 runs in a mere 19.2 overs.
Securing this triumph has propelled Pakistan to a 1-0 advantage in the three-match series, marking the first bilateral series between these two nations. The forthcoming matches are scheduled to take place in Colombo on Thursday and Saturday.
